(Radio Iowa)  -Iowa’s state-licensed casinos saw a post-pandemic surge and set a record for the fiscal year that ended in June. Racing and Gaming Administrator Brian Ohorilko says gross revenue was more than one-point-five BILLION dollars. (1,575,410,919) The adjusted gross receipts this last fiscal year was our highest to date,” he says. Ohorilko says with many entertainment venues still not open — people visited one of the 19 casinos. “We have seen record numbers at all of the casinos. Attendance still hasn’t bounced back completely — but the folks that are attending are spending their discretionary income” according to Ohorilko.

The gross revenue is 412 million dollars more than the previous fiscal year, and attendance was up by more than 860-thousand compared to the previous year when there were pandemic shutdowns. “It really has been a very interesting time to be in this industry, no different than other industries. Prior to the pandemic the casino business had been growing slightly — but had fairly stabilized — it was a very predictable market,” Ohorilko says. He says the last five or six years had seen some modest increases or decreases in casino revenue. “Attendance numbers had continued to decline and that was the trend we were seeing prior to the pandemic. Obviously, with the pandemic, it really impacted the casinos. A few of them even had to take advantage of some of the federal assistance that was available. A number of employees were furloughed during this period of time,” Ohorilko says. And then coming out of the pandemic, there is no doubt some pent-up demand.”

Ohorilko believes the post-pandemic surge is not a new upward trend. “I think most people in the industry are cautiously optimistic that things will continue to be good and that there won’t be too much leveling off,” he says, “but I do think most people expect at some point that we will have some stabilization.” The casino news comes on the heels of the news by the Iowa Lottery that they had set a revenue record through may with the June numbers still remaining to be tallied for their fiscal year.

Here are the comparisons of gross revenue for this fiscal year and last:

Ameristar II (2020 FY) $125,069,899 (2021 FY) $165,813,532

Casino Queen – Marquette (2020 FY) $16,774,521 (2021 FY) $18,122,047

Catfish Bend Casino (2020 FY) $32,120,253 (2021 FY) $43,312,686

Diamond Jo -Dubuque (2020 FY) $56,288,403 (2021 FY) $68,075,215

Diamond Jo -Worth (2020 FY) $66,176,954 (2021 FY) $95,879,440

Grand Falls Casino Resort (2020 FY) $51,068,556 (2021 FY) $77,985,618

Hard Rock Casino (2020 FY) $61,131,382 (2021 FY) $87,071,790

Harrah’s Council Bluffs (2020 FY) $52,346,691 (2021 FY) $58,119,156

Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs (2020 FY) $141,079,667 2021 FY $180,348,582

Isle of Capri -Bettendorf (2020 FY) $51,185,660 (2021 FY) $68,543,830

Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo (2020 FY) $65,610,428 (2021 FY) $88,403,509

Lakeside Casino (2020 FY) $40,140,089 2021 FY $47,606,985

Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino (2020 FY) $157,183,728(2021 FY) $206,650,185

Q Casino (2020 FY) $39,695,531 (2021 FY) $50,257,313

Rhythm City Casino (2020 FY) $64,095,082 (2021 FY) $110,258,958

Riverside Casino (2020 FY) $76,697,150 (2021 FY) $116,284,366

Wild Rose – Clinton (2020 FY) $23,962,022 (2021 FY) $32,920,515

Wild Rose – Emmetsburg (2020 FY) $20,300,642 (2021 FY) $27,418,527

Wild Rose – Jefferson (2020 FY) $22,489,579 (2021 FY) $32,338,665

(Radio Iowa) – A judge says he’ll rule by Friday on whether the defense attorneys for the man convicted of murdering Mollie Tibbetts should have access to state investigation records in two other cases. The attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera say they learned hours after a jury convicted Bahena that another man was claiming he killed Tibbetts. Attorney Jennifer Frese suggests there may be a link with the case of a missing 11-year-old boy from Montezuma. “Three people have vanished out of thin air in this small rural county: Mollie Tibbetts, Xavior Harrelson and the woman that reported being abducted in May of 2018 and being sex trafficked,” Frese said.

Scott Brown, the lead prosecutor on the case, says Bahena’s attorneys are on a fishing expedition. “This whole issue that they raised with Xavior Harrelson. That is a pending investigation. The fact that they would put this information in a public document, which we did try to get ahead of, is unconscionable in my mind.” Brown says he offered to stop the trial in May after learning two people had claimed to have heard another man confess he was the one who killed Tibbetts, but Bahena’s attorneys declined. Brown says the account Bahena’s lawyers presented in court today was confusing. “No evidence supports it. None,” Brown said “Zero!”

Bahena was to be sentenced today (Thursday), but the trial judge granted a delay to consider the request to pursue new leads in the case. Chad Frese, one of Bahena’s attorneys, suggests prosecutors sat on information about a woman who says she was kidnapped in Brooklyn two months before Tibbetts was abducted. “There’s evidence here that 10 kids in this area have gone missing. We’ve provided that,” Frese said. “There’s something rotten in this area.”

The judge plans to hold a hearing July 27th to consider defense motions for a new trial.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports two women were arrested this week, on separate warrants. On Wednesday, Deputies arrested 23-year-old Bailey Nicole McClarnon, of Clarinda, on a Montgomery County Warrant for Violation of Probation. McClarnon was arrested at her residence and was unable to post the $1,000 cash-only bond. She was subsequently transported Villisca and turned over to a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy.

And, on Tuesday, Page County Sheriff’s Office Deputies arrested 30-year-old Destiny Estalin Louise Graham, of Coin, on two Page County warrants. She was taken into custody at her residence. The first warrant was for Failure to appear on original charges of Disorderly conduct & Interference with Official acts. The second warrant was for Failure to appear on an original charge of Violation of Compulsory Education Mediation Agreement/1st Offense. Bond on each warrant was $500 cash only.  Graham was transported to the Page County Jail and held on a $1,000 cash only bond stemming from the two warrants, pending further court appearances.

Destiny Graham

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